Bucket Tooth

Embodiments disclosed herein relate to heavy equipment for performing excavation and/or digging operations.

Construction operations, including construction operations for residential projects, commercial projects, or public works, for example, excavation and/or grading may be employed for anyone of multiple different purposes. For example, excavation may prepare a portion of a site for a concrete foundation or to form trenches in ground for deploying underground utilities. Similarly, grading may prepare a ground surface to support new structures, hardscape and/or landscape features. Excavation and or grading operations are typically carried out using heavy equipment such as, for example, backhoes, excavators, mini excavators, bulldozers, just to provide a few examples.

Heavy equipment used in excavation and/or grading operations typically employs a movable bucket which may be positioned using retractable and extendable hydraulic cylinders and/or the like. In particular implementations, a movable bucket used by heavy equipment typically includes metal teeth which assist in the efficient breaking up ground and/or dislodging rocks etc. In some excavation and/or grading operations, teeth attached to a movable bucket used by heavy equipment may be the leading point of contact with ground.

Reference is made in the following detailed description to accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, wherein like numerals may designate like parts throughout that are corresponding and/or analogous. It will be appreciated that the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale, such as for simplicity and/or clarity of illustration. For example, dimensions of some aspects may be exaggerated relative to others. Further, it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized. Furthermore, structural and/or other changes may be made without departing from claimed subject matter. References throughout this specification to “claimed subject matter” refer to subject matter intended to be covered by one or more claims, or any portion thereof, and are not necessarily intended to refer to a complete claim set, to a particular combination of claim sets (e.g., method claims, apparatus claims, etc.), or to a particular claim. It should also be noted that directions and/or references, for example, such as up, down, top, bottom, and so on, may be used to facilitate discussion of drawings and are not intended to restrict application of claimed subject matter. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken to limit claimed subject matter and/or equivalents.

References throughout this specification to one implementation, an implementation, one embodiment, an embodiment, and/or the like means that a particular feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like described in relation to a particular implementation and/or embodiment is included in at least one implementation and/or embodiment of claimed subject matter. Thus, appearances of such phrases, for example, in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily intended to refer to the same implementation and/or embodiment or to any one particular implementation and/or embodiment. Furthermore, it is to be understood that particular features, structures, characteristics, and/or the like described are capable of being combined in various ways in one or more implementations and/or embodiments and, therefore, are within intended claim scope. In general, of course, as has always been the case for the specification of a patent application, these and other issues have a potential to vary in a particular context of usage. In other words, throughout the disclosure, particular context of description and/or usage provides helpful guidance regarding reasonable inferences to be drawn; however, likewise, “in this context” in general without further qualification refers to the context of the present disclosure.

Some construction projects, such as in urban or suburban environments, involve excavating, digging and/or grading over subterranean structures such as, for example, underground utilities. Such underground utilities may include, for example, water lines, sewer lines, septic tanks, natural gas lines, high-voltage power lines, coaxial or optical communication lines, just to provide a few examples. In one aspect, excavating, digging and/or grading in urban or suburban environments may incur risk of damage to existing underground utilities. During excavation, for example, steel teeth affixed to a movable bucket may puncture, rupture or otherwise damage such existing underground utilities. In this context, a “bucket” as referred to herein means a structure and/or device attached to or attachable to a machine for use in operations for manipulating a solid material. For example, such a bucket may be attached to and/or be integrated with heavy equipment (e.g., backhoe, excavator or mini excavator) for use in digging, excavating and/or grading operations. In addition to causing physical damage to existing underground utilities requiring repair or replacement, such puncture, rupture or otherwise damage to such existing underground utilities may create an emergency condition, requiring halting a project, followed by evacuation and/or deployment of emergency first responders.

Briefly, one embodiment is directed to use of one or more bucket teeth to be fastened to a bucket coupled to heavy equipment, wherein the one or more teeth have an exterior that is of a reduced hardness. In one particular application, use of such teeth having an exterior with a reduced hardness may reduce a risk of damage to subterranean structures in excavation, grading and/or other digging operations in an urban or suburban environment.

As shown in, backhoeincludes a tractorcoupled to a jointed backhoe arm. Backhoe armincludes a boompivotally connected to a first end of dipperand a bucketpivotally connected to a second end of dipper. Hydraulic boom swing cylindersare coupled to and between a boom baseand chassisof tractor, and are extendable and retractable to pivot boomabout a generally vertical axis with respect to tractor. Hydraulic boom lift cylinderis coupled to and between pivot boomand boom base, and is extendable and retractable to pivot boomabout a generally horizontal axis with respect to boom base. Hydraulic dipper cylinderis coupled to and between dipperand pivot boomand is extendable and retractable to pivot dipperabout a generally horizontal axis with respect to an upper end of boom. Hydraulic bucket cylinderis coupled to and between bucket,and dipperis extendable and retractable to pivot bucketwith respect to dipper. Additionally, tractoris coupled to a pair of loader armsthat are movable to raise and lower a loader bucketresponsive to an extension and retraction of a corresponding pair of hydraulic loader arm cylinders. An orientation of loader bucketmay be controlled by pivoting loader bucketrelative to loader armresponsive to an extension and retraction of a pair of hydraulic loader bucket cylinders.

Connected to bucketare a plurality replaceable teeththat may provide leading contact with the ground in excavation operations, for example. Likewise, connected to loader bucketare a plurality of replaceable teeththat may provide leading contact with the ground in excavation and/or grading operations. Teethand/ormay be formed from forged steel to provide a sufficient exterior hardness to facilitate efficient excavation, digging and/or grading operations, and to enhance durability for use over multiple projects. As pointed out above, steel teeth attached to a bucket (e.g., bucketand/or loader bucket) may cause damage to underground utilities in the course of excavation, grading and/or digging operations in an urban and/or suburban environment.

In one embodiment, as shown in, bucketmay comprise teethfitted over shanks (not shown), which are attached to bucketby welded joints, for example. In one particular implementation, as shown in, a shank(e.g., secured to bucketby one or more welded joints) and a toothmay have corresponding/aligned holesformed therein to receive a pin (e.g., a pin) to secure the toothin place over shank. In another embodiment, as shown in, loader bucketmay comprise teeththat are fastened to loader bucketby nut and bolt assemblies. Here, corresponding aligned holes may be formed in loader bucketand portions of teethoverlapping loader bucketto receive nut and bolt assemblies.

As pointed out above, teethand/or, if formed from a hard material such as forged steel, may impart risk to subterranean structures while excavating, grading or otherwise digging in an urban and/or suburban environment. According to an embodiment, teethand/or, if formed from forged steel, may be replaced with teeth of a reduced and/or lowered hardness to reduce risk of damage to subterranean structures. Such a replacement tooth may be formed to have an exterior having a hardness not exceeding a particular score on a durometer scale. In one particular implementation, such an exterior of a replacement tooth may be specified to have a hardness not exceeding 65 on a Shore A scale durometer hardness scale.

In one application, teeth installed on bucketand/or loader bucketmay be readily selected and/or changed to adapt backhoeto specific operations such as, for example, excavation, grading and/or otherwise digging in different environments/applications such as, for example, urban/suburban environments, rural/agricultural environments (e.g., where no subterranean structures are expected), archeological digs, softer soil, just to provide a few examples of environments/applications to which backhoemay be adapted. In one embodiment, teethon bucketmay be readily replaced and/or swapped by removing pinsholding teethin place on shanks, removing teethto expose the shanks. Teeth with a lowered/reduced hardness may then be placed over the exposed shanks. Removed pinsmay then be placed in aligned holes in the shanks and teeth with the lowered/reduced hardness to secure the teeth with a lowered/reduced hardness in place. Similarly in another embodiment, teethon loader bucketmay be readily replaced or removed by loosening and removing nut and bolt assemblies, and removing teethfrom loader bucket. Teeth with a lowered/reduced hardness may then be positioned over holes in loader bucket. Nut and bolt assembliesmay then be placed back in aligned holes in the loader bucketand teeth with the lowered/reduced hardness to secure the teeth with a lowered/reduced hardness in place.

While particular example embodiments disclosed herein are directed to replacement of a full-hardness teeth (e.g., formed from forged steel) with teeth of a particular reduced/lowered hardness, in other embodiments an operator may have the option of selecting replacement teeth with a variety of different levels of reduced/lowered hardness. For example, different optional replacement teeth may have different ranges of hardness available for selection for tailoring to a specific operation. Such different ranges may be, for example, durometer Shore A scale range 35-45, 45-55, 55-65, 65-75, 75-85, 85-95, just to provide examples of different ranges of hardness that may be imparted to an exterior of a replacement tooth for a bucket for use in digging, excavation and/or grading operations. This may be accomplished, for example, by altering a chemical composition of a polymer (e.g., acetal resin) used for forming an exterior of a replacement tooth with a reduced hardness. For example, this may be achieved by blending Derlin with other polymers/materials to vary hardness of exterior material of a bucket tooth to be tailored to a particular application. This may, for example, enable an operator to further tailor excavation or grading operations for particular environments/applications.

According to an embodiment, features of a replacement toothto be fitted over a shank (e.g., fitted over shankto replace a forged steel tooth) are shown in. In one embodiment, replacement toothmay be formed as a solid polymer structure from injection molding, milled from a solid block or formed from a 3-D printer, for example. Such a polymer material may comprise a high-performance acetal resin such as Derlin® marketed by Dupont™, for example. It should be understood, however, that this merely an example of a material that may be used for forming a replacement tooth and/or an exterior of a replacement tooth, and claimed subject matter is not limited in this respect.

Particular dimensions and/or parameters to define replacement toothshown inmay be varied to adapt to multiple different sizes of shankand/or applications. In one particular implementation, for example, lengths/distances EW, IW, T, T, h may be 2.25″, 1.47″, 1.68″, 2.50″ and 5.25″, respectively. Corner radii R, Rand Rmay be 0.1875″, 0.0625″ and 0.2500″ respectively. Angle alpha may be about 80.0°. Additionally, holeto receive a pin to secure replacement tooth to shankmay have a diameter of 0.570″. Again, it should be understood that these are dimensions are merely examples of dimensions for a replacement tooth to fit on a particular-sized/dimensioned shankand for a particular application, and that these dimensions may be altered and/or tailored to be adapted to different sizes/dimensions of shank, for example.

The particular implementation of, replacement toothis formed to be a solid structure of a uniform polymer material. In another implementation, replacement toothmay be formed to have one or more inner layers of a first material to be in direct contact with a surface of shank, and one or more outer layers of a second material to be on an exterior of replacement tooth. For example, such inner layers in contact with the surface of shankmay comprise a forged or milled steel while such outer layers on an exterior of replacement toothmay comprise polymer such as the aforementioned high-performance acetal resin, for example. In one implementation, such outer layers may be formed on the inner layers by deposition. In another implementation, such outer layers may be formed as a separate structure, which is then secured to the inner layers using an adhesive.

While the particular examples discussed above relate to replacement teeth for a bucket used by a backhoe, it should be understood that embodiments discussed herein similarly apply to teeth attached to buckets employed by other types of excavation equipment such as an excavator or mini excavator, just to provide a couple of examples.

In a particular context of usage, such as a particular context in which tangible components are being discussed, therefore, the terms “coupled” and “connected” are used in a manner so that the terms are not synonymous. Similar terms may also be used in a manner in which a similar intention is exhibited. Thus, “connected” is used to indicate that two or more tangible components and/or the like, for example, are tangibly in direct physical contact. Thus, using the previous example, two tangible components that are electrically connected are physically connected via a tangible electrical connection, as previously discussed. However, “coupled,” is used to mean that potentially two or more tangible components are tangibly in direct physical contact. Nonetheless, is also used to mean that two or more tangible components and/or the like are not necessarily tangibly in direct physical contact, but are able to co-operate, liaise, and/or interact, such as, for example, by being “optically coupled.” Likewise, the term “coupled” may be understood to mean indirectly connected in an appropriate context. It is further noted, in the context of the present disclosure, the term physical if used in relation to memory, such as memory components or memory states, as examples, necessarily implies that memory, such memory components and/or memory states, continuing with the example, is tangible.

Unless otherwise indicated, in the context of the present disclosure, the term “or” if used to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, here used in the exclusive sense. With this understanding, “and” is used in the inclusive sense and intended to mean A, B, and C; whereas “and/or” can be used in an abundance of caution to make clear that all of the foregoing meanings are intended, although such usage is not required. In addition, the term “one or more” and/or similar terms is used to describe any feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like in the singular, “and/or” is also used to describe a plurality and/or some other combination of features, structures, characteristics, and/or the like. Furthermore, the terms “first,” “second” “third,” and the like are used to distinguish different aspects, such as different components, as one example, rather than supplying a numerical limit or suggesting a particular order, unless expressly indicated otherwise. Likewise, the term “based on” and/or similar terms are understood as not necessarily intending to convey an exhaustive list of factors, but to allow for existence of additional factors not necessarily expressly described.

Furthermore, it is intended, for a situation that relates to implementation of claimed subject matter and is subject to testing, measurement, and/or specification regarding degree, to be understood in the following manner. As an example, in a given situation, assume a value of a physical property is to be measured. If alternatively reasonable approaches to testing, measurement, and/or specification regarding degree, at least with respect to the property, continuing with the example, is reasonably likely to occur to one of ordinary skill, at least for implementation purposes, claimed subject matter is intended to cover those alternatively reasonable approaches unless otherwise expressly indicated. As an example, if a plot of measurements over a region is produced and implementation of claimed subject matter refers to employing a measurement of slope over the region, but a variety of reasonable and alternative techniques to estimate the slope over that region exist, claimed subject matter is intended to cover those reasonable alternative techniques, even if those reasonable alternative techniques do not provide identical values, identical measurements or identical results, unless otherwise expressly indicated.

It is further noted that the terms “type” and/or “like,” if used, such as with a feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like, using “optical” or “electrical” as simple examples, means at least partially of and/or relating to the feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like in such a way that presence of minor variations, even variations that might otherwise not be considered fully consistent with the feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like, do not in general prevent the feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like from being of a “type” and/or being “like,” (such as being an “optical-type” or being “optical-like,” for example) if the minor variations are sufficiently minor so that the feature, structure, characteristic, and/or the like would still be considered to be predominantly present with such variations also present. Thus, continuing with this example, the terms optical-type and/or optical-like properties are necessarily intended to include optical properties. Likewise, the terms electrical-type and/or electrical-like properties, as another example, are necessarily intended to include electrical properties. It should be noted that the specification of the present disclosure merely provides one or more illustrative examples and claimed subject matter is intended to not be limited to one or more illustrative examples; however, again, as has always been the case with respect to the specification of a patent application, particular context of description and/or usage provides helpful guidance regarding reasonable inferences to be drawn.

In the preceding description, various aspects of claimed subject matter have been described. For purposes of explanation, specifics, such as amounts, systems and/or configurations, as examples, were set forth. In other instances, well-known features were omitted and/or simplified so as not to obscure claimed subject matter. While certain features have been illustrated and/or described herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes and/or equivalents will now occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all modifications and/or changes as fall within claimed subject matter.